Vending-machine.



c. A. MELCHERT.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV,27.-1914- LMQASU, PatentedSept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES: l/VVEIVTOR f fli/Ws /chw/i mam h C. A. MELCHERT.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV: 21. 1914.

1 ",1 5QA3Q, Patented. Sept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

6W. Mew/16m C. A. IVlELCHERT.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV=27.19I4.

mmfiwo PatentedSept. 7, 1915.

3 SHE ETS- SHEET 3.

CHARLES A. MELCHERT, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO AUTOMATICMACHINE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, A COR- PORATIONOF MISSOURI.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Zl'atent.

Patented Sept. t, 1915.

Application filed November 27, 191%. Serial No. 874,217.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES A. MEL- ennn'r, acitizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county ofJackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in VendingdVIachines; and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a partcommon receptacle and for locking the re-' ceptacle so that only thosepossessed of a proper key may have access thereto.

In accomplishin this ob]ect I have provided the improve details ofstructure hereinafter described and illustrated in the ac companyingdrawings, wherein Figure I is a perspective view of a vending machineconstructed according to my invention. Fig. II is a rear perspectlvewith a part of the back plate and part of an end broken away toillustrate the interior construction. Fig. III is a rear perspective ofpart of one end of the machine. Fig. IV is a vertical section of themachine on a line running through the bin which supports the coin cup,showing the bin open and illustrating the manner of removing the cup.Fig. V is a perspective view of the coin cup and a portion of the lockand supporting bin, a part of the lock being broken away, for betterillustration. Fig. VI is a perspective view of one of the bins.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:The present machine isparticularly adapted for hotels, or like places, where the machine maybe mounted'on the wall of a hall or room, so that guests may purchasearticles from the machine without the necessity of leaving their roomswhen such arholes are required, and in order to conveniently mount themachine I provide the same with a stamped metallic back plate'l whlchmay be nailed 'or otherwise secured to the wall, and is provided withinwardly stamped ears 2 spaced somewhat from the plate 1, and near thelower edge with a slot 3.

'Ihe machine proper comprises. a casing 4, which is open at the back toprovide access to the interior parts when removed from its mounting, andwhich is secured to the wall member 1 by upper latches 5 that aresecured to the top of the casing and com prise downturned flanges 6adapted for proect1on between the cars 2 and the back plate.

Fixed to the bottom of the casing 4: is a U-shaped member 7 having aback leg 9 that extends in the vertical plane of the upper latch flanges6 and the forward leg 10, which extends to a point above the top of theback leg 9 and is provided with a key opening 11; the back leg having arearwardly directed lip 12 that is adapted for pro1ection through theslot 3 in the wall member 1 to anchor the parts together.

Pivotally mounted on a stud 14 on the wall member 1 is a latch 15 havinga nor mally depending leg 16 that is adapted to lie in front of the rearleg 9 of the U-memher on the casing, and a front head 17 that is spacedfrom the leg 16 and is provided with a key socket 18 that normally liesback of the opening 11 in the front leg of the U- member 8 on thecasing, so that a key 19, which may be projected through an opening 20in the front of the casing, may pass through the opening in the U-shapedmemher into the socket on the latch to turn the latch, so that the leg16 may be removed from the front of the rear leg of the U- shaped memberand thereby release the casing so that it may be swung forwardly andupwardly away from the wall member.

The front of the casing is provided with an opening 22 of substantialsize, and lo cated within the casing back of the opening is a housingplate 23, which extends vertically from about the bottom of the openingand thence in an inclined plane to the front of the casing above theopening 22.

Extending longitudinally through the cassuitable number of bins all butone of Whiching in front of and near the lower edge of the housing plate23 is a rod 25, and pivotally mounted on said rod 25 are a number ofcommodity bins 26 of such vertical and horizontal depth that their frontfaces combine to close the casing opening 22, while their back faces lieflush against the housing plate .23; the rod 25 being extended throughapertures 28 in the lower rear corners of the bins, so that unless thebins are supported in some manner they will tilt forwardly (Fig. IV) andexpose their open upper ends, so that articles contained within the binsmay be removed therefrom.

The machine maybe provided with any equipped with a coin receptacle andlocking mechanism, hereinafter described.

-In order to support the bins in their upright or closed positions andadapt the same for automatic release upon the insertion of a coin orcheck, I provide each of the bins.

with a latch bar 30, which projects rearwardly through a slot 31 in thehousing plate 23 and is provided with a hook end 32 that is adapted forengagement by a lever 34 that is pivotally mounted on a pin 35'thatprojects rearwardly from the back face of the housing plate. A secondarm 37 of the lever 34 projects through a slot 38 in the coin chute 39that is formed by the housing 23 and a cover member 40, one end of thechute opening to aslot 41 in the front of the casing above theparticular bin controlled by the latch for that particular coin chute;the arm 37 being yieldingly retained in such position within the chutethat it will stop a coin dropping therethrough and the arm 35 beingyieldingly tensioned toward engagement with the latch hook 330 by aspring 42 which is connected .with a third arm 43 of the lever andfixed'in any suitable manner to the chute 39 or other fixed part of themachine. The chute 39 has a slot 44 in the vertical portion of the capmember for receiving an arm 45 that is fixed on a rod 46 which isjournalcd in bearings 47 that project rearwardly from the housing23;-the

said rod being provided with a fixed collar 49 and the said collar beingprovided with a spring 50, which is connected with the housing toyieldingly retain the arm 40 in upper posltion, so that a coiii may passthrough the chute onto the lever arm 37. The ends of the rod 46 projectthrough the ends ofthe casing and fixed on one end of the rod, ex-vterior to the casing, is a crank 52 which projects through a quadrant 53and carries a handle 54, whereby the rod maybe revolved to move the arm45 down into contact with the coin to press the same against the leverand rock the latter to release the bin; theto rock the lever 34 torelease the bin'latch 30 and thereby release the bin so that it may tipforwardly to expose its upper end and permit its contents to be removed.

Each of the bins is similarly constructed and located below the openends of the chutes 39 are inclined troughs 53 having open tops adaptedfor receiving coins dropped from the lower ends of the chutes, and theinclines being preferably toward the center of thehousi'ng, so that thecoins from the different chutes may be delivered to a common receptacle.

One of the troughs 53 is provided with a chute 57 comprising a forwardlyinclined member 58, the lower end of which rests on the edge of a catchbox' 59 and is provided with a stop lip 60 for retaining the deliveryend of the chute on the edge of the catch box. The other trough 53 hasits lower end projected into an opening 61 in the body of the chute 57,so that coins deposited in the trough may be delivered into the chute.

The catch box 59 is suspended from a lock' housing 62, which isremovably suspended from the bottom of bin 26 so that when the coinscollected by the machine are to be removed the bin 26 may be releasedand the lock housingdisengaged from its mounting in the bin and-removedto remove the coin catch box,' so that the coins may be removed.

The lock housing 62 comprises a metal case having a top, having adepending rear flange 63 provided with openings 64 for receiving thehooks 65 on the upper end of the 00111 catch box, and having laterallydirected flanges 66 which are adapted for overlying the ribs 67 thatproject inwardly from the opposite sides of said bin to support the lockhousing and catch box from the ribs.

The housing contains the paired bolt members 68 which are adapted forprojection and retraction by a key (39 that may be projected through thekey opening 70 in the top of the housing through any ordinary lockmechanism (not shown):

The bolts 68 are spaced from the flanges 65 so that when the flanges aresupported on the bin ribs, the bolts may be projected beneath the ribsand thereby prevent the lock housing from being withdrawn from the binwhile it is supported from the ribs by the flanges 65.

The backs of the bins 26 and 26' are preferably provided withupwardlydirected lips 72 having hook ends 73 adapted for engagement with a lip74 that projects rearwardly -from the front of the casing 4 at the topof ber and thereby gain access to the machine I locate the said latchdirectly back of the coin catch box, so that it would be impossible foranyone to project a key through the machine until the catch box had beenlifted above the-plane of the key opening in the tating the removal ofthe catch box by a person having a key to the catch box lock.

into the In using the machine, presuming the parts to be constructed andassembled as described, and with all of the bins provided with vendiblearticles, a person wishing to purchase one of the articles drops theproper coin through the slot in the front of the housing over the bincontaining the article he desires, and the coin passing down through thechute is stopped by the arm of lever 34, which projects into the chute.The purchaser then operates the crank handle to move the pin 45 ontoQthecoin socket. The coin is 'pushed'against the lever and rocks the leverto release the bin latch and the bin then tilts forward automaticallyand the article contained therein may'be removed. 'Whenthe coin ispushed past the lever it drops into one of the troughs 53 and travelsdown the incline into the chute 58 through which it is delivered intothe coin-catch box front of the case; this arrangement necessi that issuspended from one of the bins; the

latch lever being moved back automatically by its spring as soon as'thecoin is past, so that when the bin .is refilled and moved back machineit will automatically re locki.

. It is apparent that the bins may be oper;

ated a number of times Without interfering with the collection of thecoins-as the refill- -a ing of the bins and purchase of the articles isentirely independent of the coin collection, so that the bins may berefilled as often as required and coins removed only at infrequentintervals, if desired.

IVh en the coins are to be removed, the collector releases the bin uponwhich the catch box is mounted, and projects the long handld key throughthe box into the lock housing to retract the bolts, so that the housingand the catch box which are suspended therefrom may be lifted out of thebin on the end of the key. When the box is lifted out and the coinsremoved, it may bereplaced by lowering the same into the bin and lockedin place by turning the key to shoot the bolts. It is apparent that withthis construction vit is impossiblb to remove the coins except throughthe bin upon which the box is suspended, and that the box is protectedby the lock housing, so'that the only way in which the coins can bereached is through the bin. It is also apparent that when the catch boxis in place it obstructs the path of the key 19 by which the casing ofthe machineis locked to .thewall member, so that not only is the catchbox itself fully protected from pilferers but the safety of the entiremachine is insured.

I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

' 1. A vending machine comprising a casing, a plurality of bins mountedin the casing, means for releasing each bin through the intermediacy ofa check, a catch box suspended from one of the bins and adapted forremoval therethrough, and means for conducting coins through the casingto the catch box.

A2. A vending machine comprising a casing, a bin pivotally mounted inthe casing, check-controlled mechanism adapted for retaining the bin inlocked position,,a lock housing removable through the bin and adaptedfor locking cooperation therewith, a catch box suspended from thehousing, and means for conducting coins from the controlling mechanismto' the catch box.

3. A vending machine comprising a casing, an open-bottomed bin mountedin the casing, check-controlled mechanism for normally retaining the binin locked position, ribs on the inner faces of the bin near the lowerend thereof, a lock housing having upper flanges adapted'for supportingthe housing on the ribs, and having bolts adapted to shoot under theribs to holdthe 'housingin place, a catch box suspendedv from thehousing, and means for conducting checks from the controlling mechanismto the catch box.

4. A vending machine comprising a casing, a plurality of bins mounted inthe easing, check-controlled mechanism for retainT- mg the bins inlocked position, ribs on the inner faces of one of the bins, a lockhousing supported on the ribs and having bolts adapted to shoot beneaththe ribs, a catch box suspended from the lock housing, inclined troughsadapted for catching the checks delivered from the controllingmechanism, and means for conducting the checks from the troughs to thecatch box.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.CHARLES A. MELCH-ERT. v

Witnesses:

LYNN A. RoBINsoN, LETA E. COATS.

Having thus described my invention, what

